Maybe I’m just numb to it or exhausted by it at this point. I’m not really sure. Perhaps I just know that, for the most part, press availability with the media is never really going to reveal much more than just coach or executive speak. Let executives talk long enough and they’ll eventually speak from both sides of their mouths.
Ryan Poles, Kevin Warren, and George McCaskey met the media today at Halas Hall after yet another disappointing Bears season. And there are a lot of people up in arms about what was said, or what wasn’t said, or a combination of both.
I won’t fault people for not being thrilled about McCaskey or Warren’s words. I’m not. They’re both a little tone-deaf. McCaskey clearly gets nervous speaking to the press, and Warren is always going to sound a little confident.
But I watched the Ryan Poles press conference live this morning, and I can, for the most part, say that nothing I heard raised much of an eyebrow, good or bad. I thought there was some good insight on the coaching search. I’d have liked to hear about his contract status, but he’s also not required to disclose it. He took some accountability for the poor season and addressed what he thinks needs to change from the previous coaching staff.
I thought this was a notable quote from Ryan Poles when it comes to fixing some of the things that went wrong with the previous coaching staff:"I do think we need to challenge our guys more. And when we talk about accountability, there’s systems of accountability. It’s how…
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) January 7, 2025Ryan Poles Press Conference Was … Fine
Everyone said that after the post-Eberflus firing press conference, Poles needed to stand in front of the media, take every question, and lay out a clear plan for his coaching search. Did he not do that? He took every question asked and didn’t cut anyone off. He detailed his plan, why he’s interviewing so many people, and what he’s looking for. Are we really going to sit here and over-analyze his body language?
I understand that several people believe Ryan Poles shouldn’t be the one to lead the coaching search. Heck, I’ve been one of them. I’ve been in the camp of it being time to move on and get some alignment in the organization. However, being overly critical of what was said or not said today just seems like a waste of energy.
My main takeaways from what Poles had to say:
He’s leading the search; the hire is his choice. He can cast as wide a net as he wants for potential candidates. We don’t know his contract status. He’s open to every type of head coach as long as they’re a fit. There will NOT be a search firm, or outside consultants used (other than background checks, which is normal).Those takeaways highlight quite literally the exact opposite of the last coaching search. When Poles hired Eberlfus, he was given three candidates to choose from that he didn’t even initially interview and were suggested by an outside consultant in Bill Polian, and the decision was being made by himself, Ted Phillips, and George McCaskey.
If you want to be upset that George McCaskey doesn’t believe that alignment between a coach and GM is important, that’s fine. That’s a dumb thing to say, and maybe he believes it, or perhaps he was just saying it to get out of talking about Poles’ contract status.
If you’re upset about Kevin Warren (so far) being about a whole lot of talk without much positive action, that’s fine, too. I’m going to reserve my judgment on him until this hire is made and next season plays out. That’s really what matters to me.
(Screenshot via Chicago Bears/YouTube)For the life of me, I just don’t get the vitriol toward Ryan Poles after today’s presser. And it’s not from everyone, mind you. Maybe I need to pump the breaks on listening to so much local radio after events like this one. He didn’t say much of anything, and that’s fine by me. He stood there, took every question, answered mostly honestly, and expressed enough confidence in his process. It was about as much of a nothing press conference as you can have – and that’s fine.
I’m as pissed about this season as anyone, and if you want to be pissed at Ryan Poles for that, I’m with you. Everything falls on his plate. But what he outlined today for his offseason plan, I just don’t understand what there was to be so upset about.
I see a whole lot of people being up in arms about this response to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune:
Not sure how accountable Poles sounded despite him saying “I hold myself accountable”.When @danwiederer asked him about the things Caleb had to deal with in his rookie year, Poles questioned him asking “what were those?” Cmon.
— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) January 7, 2025Do you mean to tell me Poles wasn’t too enthusiastic about giving a great answer to a guy who just wrote a 3000-word piece on why he needs to be fired?! I feel shocked! Oh, by the way, he still answered the question with about a 40-second response. He cited compatibility issues between Shane Waldron and Caleb Williams regarding how he was taught and developed. That was an issue we all saw as the season went on.
In the end, Poles press conference has nothing to do with what matters — nailing the head coaching hire and the offseason. It’s nice to have some of the information that we got. I didn’t leave that press conference wanting much more information than we got. At the end of the day, what he said in his 20-plus minutes meeting with the Chicago media won’t mean much in the end. He’s either going to nail the head coaching hire, or he’s going to mess it up and lose his job.
If you want to tell me what Warren & McCaskey said might outline more significant issues with the organization, that’s fine, I’m with you. There are several significant issues with this organization. But I’m struggling to find a reason to be upset about Ryan Poles’ answers today.
Actions speak louder than words. You’re more than entitled to be skeptical about how this offseason will go down. I’m most undoubtedly skeptical about it and terrified that they’ll get the hire wrong. But nothing said today made me feel better or worse in that regard. Let’s let the actions play out before we snap to any judgments on words.
Screenshot via Chicago Bears/YouTube Read More Details
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